ZWO 1600MM and How it Change Astrophotography

It is not often that a single product from a small company changes an entire industry but this one has. I do not know of any new cameras in the works that will change the industry as this camera either. Even though it is an older camera now it is still absolutely relevant. A true testament to how sensitive the mono camera is.

[@jiffijoff9780]

I have to admit: its not only the content you providing, but especially the laid back relaxed natural way you're presenting it. Pretty slick, packed with info - and in end: its even entertaining. Good one, subbed!

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Thank you!!

[@alesizzz1]

Excellent Presentation

[@frank4one]

Wow! I just learned half a dozen things that I had questions on. Great video, very clear and informative.

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Thank you. Providing unique content is what I try to do.

[@druid6605]

Very dramatic beginning Ben! 😊

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Yes the is one o the videos I was very passionate about.

[@Ben_Stewart]

I had two versions of this camera. Very forgiving and great introductory sensor to mono DSO.

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Yes I have loved it too. It would be nice to see something in a next generation version of it. But for now the 294MM is a good step. Just not as revolutionary.

[@edroberts5193]

A nice explanation, thank you.

[@Zealor365]

All in all, that was a well researched and documented presentation. I don't think you need to switch between views as often as you did to keep our attention, but it does add spice to the video. Your discussion was logically laid out and understandable and palatable by a wide audience base. Please continue to find interesting subareas of the hobby to discuss and I will most definitely tag along for the ride. Side note: You have WAY too much astronomy gear for someone of your age...enjoy every piece of it.

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Thanks Mark. I find that if my takes are too long I start to ramble off topic so the short takes are to help me.

[@astrocatinfo]

Great video! Thanks for sharing

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Thank you. And thank you for sharing it on your Twitter. I have not yet really understood how that bird works yet.

[@Larstronomy]

Great video, really interesting!

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Thank you!

[@benc7102]

As others have stated Great video Cheers

[@DSOImager]

Totally agree with you.. the 1600 did revolutionize astrophotography and its totally relevant today still.. especially at the used prices you see them go for now. I have a 1600mm and a 294mm. The 294mm is better but its an incremental improvement. Good video :)

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Thanks!

[@jeffslade1892]

Yes the Panasonic MN34230 is indeed a CMOS but do not confuse it with their LMOS sensor used in the MFT cameras. LMOS is biassed to sweep stray electrons off, less electronic noise. The current ones used by Panasonic and Olympus may be made by Sony but to Panasonic design.

[@39zack]

Is that a good or bad thing? 🤔

[@dominickzaucha]

The 1600 def holds its own, even to this day its still more sensitive then the newest generation color sensors. I don't see a reason to upgrade it yet. Def following your channel, great work.

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Thank you Dominick!

[@dominickzaucha]

@@TheNarrowbandChannel 3am reply, one of us

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

@@dominickzaucha Well it was clear out side ;)

[@ddiver7908]

Sir, can you please clarify something? So i'm currently using the Oly OMD1.3. I have it paired with a WO Redcat 51, 250 mm. Do i double the focal length because of the 4/3 factor. So do I actually have a 500 mm effective focal length? I'm looking to get that mono cam also and would like to stick to 4/3 format. Thanks

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Sorry for the long delay in responding. So you have a field of view similar to a 500mm but that is the angle of view. Everything else stays the same including speed or f ration. Some people try to chop everything but that is misleading and really a marketing lie by a lot of companies trying to get you to buy. larger more expensive stuff.

[@DAaNni]

Great video! And nice camera!! Only one question do you know if is it possible use this camera with a olympus lense or other micro 4/3 lense?

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Yes you can! ZWO makes an adapter for it. Now the lenses from Olympus that need to focus by electricity will not focus but any manual focus lens will work. I plan on making a super wide field setup to do this later this year.

[@DAaNni]

@@TheNarrowbandChannel wow thanks for the information!! ❤️

[@sunhuatom]

Just bought one for $1000, with 7NM LRGBSHO filters in a wheel, and OAG from a guy updating his observatory to fullframe.

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Wow you got a great deal. Enjoy this camera. It's a great first camera for narrowband.

[@simmias9397]

So I’m looking for a 4/3rds mono and am thinking about the new 294 or the 1600. What’s your opinion on the new sensor in the 294

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

Your timing on asking me this is perfect. I perchased a 294mm pro at new years and have just started using it this week. So far everything has been awesome. Ill be sure to do an actual review soon. Its hugely more sensitive and images look a lot better even with very few subs i can get great images.

[@simmias9397]

@@TheNarrowbandChannel dang it…now I’m torn. I’m looking at the new 294 and the Orion G16 which is the 1600 equivalent

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

@@simmias9397 The 294 is in a lot of ways bette and more useful. Myself I would never buy another 1600 again now that I have one of these.

[@simmias9397]

@@TheNarrowbandChannel well that settles it

[@davepastern]

how does this base 1600 model compare to the 1600mm pro in your opinion? A comparison video to the 2600mm would be nice too!

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

That would be a great comparison in deed. However its two sensors that have a decade between them. I think a better comparison would be between the 294mm and the 2600mm. In short you get about 25% more performance out of the 2600mm but you pay 2x as much total. In my opinion the 294mm is money better spent.

[@davepastern]

@@TheNarrowbandChannel I don't know much about the 294mm - is the FOV similar with the 1600? That is the main reason why I paired the 1600 mm pro with the Esprit 80 - on most nights of averaging seeing, it's just acceptable in terms of under/over sampling and has an awesome FOV.

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

@@davepastern Its a similar sensor in size. The pixels are larger in its first Binned form. Originally ZWO had it locked at 2x2 but they have unlocked it now so you can bin 1x1. This sensor is what's called a quad bayer sensor so its quite versatile. Something you will see in almost all future cameras. Most of the MFT and smaller sensors get the newest technology first.

[@davepastern]

@@TheNarrowbandChannel I just had a look at the specs on ZWO's website now - same sensor size, but slightly larger pixels by about 25%. FWD looks superb and native 14bit ADC is quite nice too. I can't remember the QE for the 1600mm pro, but the 294 is around 90% which is excellent too. With that said, my long term goals are to upgrade to a 2600 mm down the track in a few years. It won't be superbly matched to my Esprit 80 and will have oversampling issues though. I don't want to move to a larger scope (Esprit 100 et cetera) so I'll just have to deal with oversampling. In my location, it's average seeing for 95% of the year anyway, and the combo will be just in the oversampling range but still acceptable imho. I prefer the 2600 over other options due to the larger sensor size, and it's back lit and newer sensel designs etc. Of course, the electronic performance is much better than the 1600.

[@PlandemicSeries-com]

APS-C does not cause more vignetting than <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="243">4:3</a> sensor on even cheap simple scopes... I use a APS-C size sensor with 1.25" filters on a $350 refractor and no vignetting... The 1600 is no better than a cooled and monoed DSLR.

[@exhibit-studios]

You are trying to be funny right?

[@PlandemicSeries-com]

@@exhibit-studios Thats from experience...

[@exhibit-studios]

@@PlandemicSeries-com You must be using some sort of dark magic then because physics says that is not possible.

[@PlandemicSeries-com]

@@exhibit-studios Than physics have either been broken or you're here to sell products by trying to discredit other, cheaper and just as effective options.

[@gazza9839]

Possibly true but how many mono cooled DSLRs have you seen ! would also need to be set point cooled .

[@davepastern]

this camera killed CCD astro cameas imho. I said it back then, and was laughed at, but history shows that I was correct.

[@TheNarrowbandChannel]

You you were definitely right. $$ are a powerful thing ;)

[@davepastern]

@@TheNarrowbandChannel well SBIG was very powerful back then. A lot of SBIG's cameras won't work with NINA cos no drivers...that's disgusting. Over priced cameras with poor support. ZWO kills them on driver support, reliability and customer service imho.